Abstract

The following text shows the way that the Rus people had to travel from Kiev in order to reach Constantinople in the middle of the 10th century. The Rus merchants journeyed to the capitol of the Byzantine Empire once a year to sell their products on the many markets of Constantinople and to purchase luxury wares. Among the offered products you could find slaves, beeswax for candle production, and animal skins. The merchants also bought silk cloth, other luxury wares and fruit. Their journey led them along the watercourses of the Dnieper river, and further over the Black Sea. The main source, on which the author based his deliberations, is "De Administrando Imperio" written by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porfirogeneta. The emperor's account includes many unique, detailed pieces of information, for example the names of all barriers (so-called "porohy") located on the Dnieper, both in the Slavic language and the language of the Nordic Rus people. Constantine's book also presents the social relations of Rus in the 10th century, putting much emphasis on the Slavs subjection to the Rus people. The analysis of "De Administrando Imperio" allows us to familiarize ourselves with the extent of the Byzantine emperor's geographic knowledge. Moreover, we learn in detail about the long journeys of the Rus people - the daily routine of braving the obstacles of the river, their struggles against the Pechenegs, or the pagan religious rituals celebrated on the islands of the Dnieper. A good knowledge of this historical source is a step in understanding the consecutive phases of how the borders of the two countries got closer - a process, which ended in 988, when Rus was baptized in the Byzantine rite.(original abstract)